The Temple Scroll and Higher Criticism
The compositional techniques used by the author of the Temple Scroll constitute an almost perfect parallel to the composition of the Pentateuch as envisaged by higher criticism — a parallel, moreover, from the same literary tradition. Although the sources of the Pentateuch are only hypothetical reco...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
HUC
1983
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual
Year: 1982, Volume: 53, Pages: 29-43 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | The compositional techniques used by the author of the Temple Scroll constitute an almost perfect parallel to the composition of the Pentateuch as envisaged by higher criticism — a parallel, moreover, from the same literary tradition. Although the sources of the Pentateuch are only hypothetical reconstructions, the major source of the Temple Scroll is known to us — the Pentateuch itself. This provides us the opportunity to test the methods of higher criticism empirically by performing such critical analysis on the Temple Scroll without recourse to its sources and subsequently comparing the results of our analysis with the known sources. Six major compositional patterns are identified in the Temple Scroll and each is examined to determine its character and characteristics, the possibilities of identifying that character through blind literary criticism, and the possibilities of reconstructing the biblical sources used therein. It is shown that although the Temple Scroll demonstrates the feasibility, indeed perhaps even the high probability, that the Torah, too, was composed primarily of earlier, written sources, it also demonstrates that the attempt to identify and reconstruct those sources in other than their broadest outlines is a consummately fruitless endeavor. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual
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